Adventure Elopements

I thought about it, but with covid exploding like this, we are just going to a park with a city view.

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Are you planning on having other people there? If my FH and I go this route, we'll be planning on just us, the officiant, and photographers. We'll let parents/siblings know of the plans if they want to come on their own, but we won't be doing anything in regards to hosting.

View Quoted Comment We plan to do the renewal in Hawaii once it’s save to do so. Original date was 23 July 2020, now it’s tbd. We however will still cut cake at home and do the pictures on the 23rd near home. The ceremony is planned to be intimate anyway. Even before covid I don’t want anyone but us and the officiant and our kids.

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Awesome. I'm sorry to hear you're in the same postponement boat (we were supposed to be July 11). Where in Hawaii are you going to do your vow renewal? Beach or rainforest?

View Quoted Comment Beach. I always wanted a destination beach wedding, so we can honeymoon right away 😉

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Sounds like a lovely plan! Fingers crossed you get to do that sooner, rather than later!

I will be doing this at the end of the month! We are hiking near Mt Baker up north in Washington. This was even our plan before COVID because we are very outdoorsy.

We are in Seattle and I can vouch for Hoh Rainforest being a gorgeous spot. It is one of the rainiest spots in the US but honestly, if you stick in the forest that will make it more beautlful. The rainforest is so rich in any light and really comes alive in the rain. The tree cover will actually protect you pretty well from the rain. A clear umbrella would be amazing in the photos.

You will not find a lot of other people out on the WA peninsula in November so plenty of privacy. If you're not from this area - keep in mind that it is really far from the city so you'll need a rental car (but you'll also get to take a ferry!). There are some gorgeous Airbnb cabins in that area. Hair and makeup might be trickier but there are vendors that do adventure elopements if you search hard enough (I can help with some that I found during my research). There's also a bunch of beaches that are part of ONP, so you could so a forest and beach shoot in the same day:

- Shishi Beach
- Rialto Beach
- Ozette Beach
- Cape Disappointment (not at all disappointing)
- La Push
- Seabrook (more of a little beach town further south on the coast).
- Hurricane Ridge (this definitely a mountain location in ONP and may have snow, though it should still be pretty accessible in November)

The options for beautiful outdoor elopements in Seattle (even in the winter!) are endless. Some of my favorite wedding photos are from dramatic, foggy days but if you luck into sun in the winter here they will of course be great.. Here are a few areas to look at that are closer to Seattle but would have similarly epic forest, mountain, beach or waterfall views:

- Rattlesnake Ledge
- Snoqualmie Falls
- Franklin Falls
- Gold Creek Pond
- San Juan Islands (arguably still pretty far from Seattle but accomodations are awesome and the ferry ride to get there is fun)
- Deception Pass
- Larabee State Park
- Alki Beach (this is definitely a city beach with AMAZING views of the city skyline and you could have a bonfire, and there's a lot of restaurants across the street from the beach)
- Point Defiance.

There's also a cool treehouse venue - Treehouse Point - that is run by the people on the show Treehouse Masters. You don't have to leave at all to have some of those epic forest shots and your treehouse cabin will be unforgettable! If you want snow for that really romantic snowy look, that wouldn't be hard to find either up toward Snoqualmie Pass.

I follow a couple of adventure elopement photographers from this area that could help you take photos like that and even navigate planning an elopement from afar. They would have even more ideas for cool locations. If you have Instagram look up these people (or they have websites too). Even if you don't go with Washington as your location - look at "Wandering Weddings" which is a group of adventure elopement photographers from all over. Many of these photographers travel too if you really love their aesthetic.

- My top two 1. Stephanie Keegan (she will be doing my photos) 2. Between the Pine.
- Others: Nick Plus Danee. Adventure Instead. The Foxes.

I have put a lot of thought into this for the WA area - feel free to DM me if you're curious to learn more about the area. Good luck with planning!

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Oh - I also have an officiant recommendation, he does adventure elopements in the Pacific Northwest. Look up "Officiant Jimmie" on Instagram or Facebook. Those elopement photogs I listed in my previous comment will also likely have recommendations.

View Quoted Comment Thank you! I have family in Seattle (my cousin is not far from Alki), so I know they’d love if I went up there! The San Juan Islands are one of my favorites! It’ll probably boil down to which will be most cost effective since I want to use the photographers I’ve already hired for the wedding. I’d love all the different options ONP has, however!

Sorry - I have so much info on this topic. Lol. It looks like you're based in California - another area to consider for those lush forested shots is Redwood National Park. A favorite place of mine is Arcata, CA in Humboldt County - it has similar vibes to Hoh Rainforest. It's a cute little laid back college town with awesome redwood forests everywhere (right behind the university too) and beaches.

- Patrick's Point State Park has a perfect ocean overlook called Wedding Rock and there's redwoods just a few steps away too
- Moonstone Beach
- Luffenholtz Beach

I used to live there so have some ideas in this area too. But I don't know of photographers and vendors.

View Quoted Comment Thank you! I’ll have to look into those locations! Limekiln and Big Sur are also pretty similar, just a little less wet (and a bit closer to us since we’re So Cal based). I really love the grandness of Yosemite, too, but I know the road closures are different every year.

I would LOVE to do an adventure elopement if it were just FH & myself but our parents are joining us and they’re up there in age as well as our officiant lol.

View Quoted Comment I hear that. What is your plan?

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We reserved a Gazebo and gardens at a local park for our “elopement.” It’s paved and has a ramp so it’s easily accessible. My mom has arthritis and issues with her hips and FMIL uses a walker for assistance so we can’t go all out.

We’re also having a bigger vow renewal & celebration at an estate/gardens hopefully next Spring!

View Quoted Comment That sounds like a perfect idea so your family can be included! Have you thought about doing an adventure shoot if/when you go on your honeymoon? That idea has been rolling around in my mind since we’ll hopefully be doing a 3 country trip next year.

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Oh that’s a great idea! Thanks for the tip!

Gorgeous photos! I was also thinking about doing an adventure elopement at Lake Tahoe (I live in northern CA), but I would also want our parents, siblings, and wedding party there with us and that combined would've been about 20 people haha. And I can't imagine getting married without them! And our parents are also on the older side. So we're still sticking to our original venue, and our plan b will be my FH's parent's beautiful backyard!

View Quoted Comment Lake Tahoe is super pretty! Are you going to go off venue for any pictures?

We might go to Rocky Mountains, but I have to say that I've seen pictures infront of the grand Tetons that look BOMBBB

View Quoted Comment Oo! Do you have any inspiration pictures saved?